The Gospel of Freedom and Power

Protestant Missionaries in American Culture after World War II

Sarah E. Ruble

Publication Year: 2012

In the decades after World War II, Protestant missionaries abroad were a topic of vigorous public debate. Public conversations about missionaries followed a powerful yet paradoxical line of reasoning, namely that people abroad needed greater autonomy from U.S. power and that Americans could best tell others how to use their freedom. In The Gospel of Freedom and Power, Sarah Ruble analyzes these public discussions about what it meant for Americans abroad to be good world citizens, placing them firmly in the context of the United States' postwar global dominance.

Cover

Contents

Acknowledgments

In the years I have been writing this book, I have acquired many
debts. It is a joy to acknowledge them, even though I will not be
able to repay them.
I owe the idea for this book to Grant Wacker. Throughout the
project, he has been an invaluable conversation partner as well as
a constant source of encouragement...

Chapter one. Protestant Mainline

In 1984 a small war of words broke out in the United Methodist
Church (UMC). Newscope, a weekly denominational newsletter,
treated readers to accusations and counteraccusations of blasphemy,
violence, and misrepresentation. The fight featured old
combatants: members of Good News...

Chapter two. Evangelicals

In September 1945 the Free Methodist Missionary Tidings featured
a poem, “The Converted Heathen Speaks.” The author adopted
the voice of a convert:
Out of the Stygian darkness
Of heathendom, brutish and base...

Chapter three. Anthropology

In 1988 Jonathan Benthall could not explain why missionaries
were at the American Anthropological Association’s (AAA) annual
meeting. Benthall, the editor of Anthropology Today, had
“dropped into” an informal session titled “Christian Anthropologists”
expecting to hear about scholarship...

Chapter four. Gender

In 1950 the Christian Century reported that female self- interest
was impeding an important development in missions. The Century
was excited about joint efforts between the Foreign Missions
Conference (FMC) and the National Council of Churches (NCC)...

Conclusion

Some critics of U.S. power did attack its gendered logic. Barbara
Kingsolver for one. In 1998 and 1999, Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood
Bible joined John Grisham’s The Testament on best- seller lists. Her
story garnered critical acclaim...

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